Methods for the treatment of wounds have been developed in the art. U.S. Application No. 2003/0180390, published Sep. 25, 2003 and U.S. Application No. 2005/0136126, published Jun. 23, 2005, describe the reduction of scar formation by injecting sodium bicarbonate at the site of the wound to directly control the pH of the wound site and to inactivate TGF-β. These applications disclose alkalinization of the wound region to inactivate TGF-β, thereby to inhibit scar formation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,298 discloses that cross-linked hyaluronic acid may be used for treatment of scars. U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,724, issued May 11, 1993, discloses the use of an anesthetic comprising NaHCO3 for reducing pain. U.S. Pat. No. 6,063,406, issued May 16, 2000 discloses skin care compositions comprising sodium bicarbonate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,731,298, issued Mar. 24, 1998 describes a method and a pharmaceutical composition for non-topical wound, scar and keloid treatment which contains cross-linked glycosaminoglycans. The formulation can be administered by injection in the form of a gel which contains water.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,844, issued Apr. 11, 2000, discloses a combination for administration to a mammal comprising a medicinal agent and hyaluronic acid to facilitate the agent's penetration through the tissue, including scar tissue at the site to be treated through the cell membrane.
There is a need for compositions that can be used to treat wounds and to reduce the formation of scars. There is a need for improved methods of reducing scar formation.